How to Design a Better Double HelixBio-IT World | The Double Helix by James D. Watson is not merely a magnificent scientific detective story but one of the classics of 20th century literature. The book was originally published in 1968, six years after Watson shared the Nobel Prize with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, and despite the objections of many principals in the saga. Watson's gripping, painfully honest account of the quest to puzzle the structure of DNA in the face of mass distractions. So how does one improve upon a classic? One doesn't try. But inspired by the serendipitous discovery of the lost correspondence of Francis Crick a few years ago,two veteran Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory faculty decided to produce an enhanced edition of the book, which is published this week in conjunction with Simon & Schuster. On the eve of publication, Bio-IT World invited the editors of the new book, Alex Gann and Jan Witkowski, to discuss the background to the project and preview some of the treasures within. Read More

Bio-IT World Launches 2013 Best Practices ProgramBio-IT World | The 2013 Bio-IT World Best Practices competition has released its Call for Entries. Since 2003, Bio-IT World's Best Practices competition has been recognizing outstanding examples of technology and strategic innovation initiatives across the biomedical and drug discovery enterprise. The deadline for entry is January 11, 2013, and the early bird deadline is December 14, 2012. Read More

In Conversation: Tufts Geneticist Diana Bianchi on Noninvasive Prenatal TestingBio-IT World | One year after the commercial debut of the first noninvasive prenatal test for aneuploidy bySequenom, the technology is seeing rapid uptake and development by a handful of diagnostics start-ups. DianaBianchi, an expert in noninvasive prenatal testing at Tufts Medical Center an to Verinata Health, discusses the exciting advances in this field. Read More

King's Proclamation for Citizen ScientistsBio-IT World | First Base | One of the most electrifying scientific presentations I've ever heard--complete witha rare standing ovation--came nearly two decades ago at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) annualconvention. The woman who gave those remarks--Mary-Claire King--is now the president of ASHG and will likelyinspire thousands in attendance once again when she deliver's her presidential address next week in San Francisco.Read More

The Protein Treasure HuntBio-IT World | Dr Peter Hoffman's research group is using mass spectrometry to create high-resolution images of proteins in archived tumour samples to help identify new diagnostic markers for cancer. Read More

Secure Genomics in the CloudSmartPlanet | Scott Megill, CIO for the Coriell Institute for Medical Research, and Dan Pelino, General Managerof IBM's Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry group, offer up the case for putting genomic data in the cloud.Read More

Watson Learns MedicineFast Company | IBM's Watson computer is learning medicine. Through a series of apps and guidance by real oncologists, the computer is practicing diagnoses and storing new disease facts in its database. Read More

1000 Genomes Project Publishes Inventory of Human Genetic VariationThe Guardian | Scientists with the $1,000 Genomes Project have published the full genetic sequences of more than 1,000 people from 14 countries, creating the most complete inventory of the millions of variations between people'sDNA sequences ever assembled. The resource will shed light on the genetic roots of complex diseases, as well asinforming studies of human evolution. Read More